Midland, Mich., Earns Safe Community Designation from the National Safety Council

Accreditation is the first in Michigan after years of efforts to end preventable deaths among residents

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Aug 25, 2016, 04:30 ET

ITASCA, Ill., Aug. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the City of Midland, Mich., became an accredited Safe Community by the National Safety Council. It is just the 19^th community in the United States, and the first in Michigan, to receive the distinction, and it represents a multi-year data review to identify the leading causes of preventable injuries and deaths impacting Midland residents.

The mission of the National Safety Council is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. (PRNewsFoto/National Safety Council)

"Midland's commitment to the safety of its residents is laudable," said Kelly Nantel, vice president of communications and advocacy at the National Safety Council. "The data told them where to go, and they followed it closely. We are thrilled to accredit Midland as a Safe Community."

Careful examination found that fires, older adult falls, substance abuse and suicide affect Midland residents most. Local law enforcement, the Midland Fire Department, local medical and public health professionals, faith-based organizations, local businesses, schools and concerned community members began working together to implement prevention programs. Some of these efforts include:

Developing the program Remembering When, which provides training for seniors to help them understand how to prevent both fires and falls
Establishing a day for all faith-based organizations to address suicide prevention
Providing training for law enforcement so they can effectively handle mental health crisis
Educating medical personnel and practitioners about mental health treatment, counseling and follow up
Establishing a community resource center for information about mental health and suicide, using materials from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and other organizations
Adding an on-call, trained mental health practitioner to the emergency room staff

"Midland is incredibly proud to have received a Safe Community accreditation from the National Safety Council," said Midland Mayor, Maureen Donker. "Safety is foremost in our community and while we have improvements to make, we are fortunate to have such good safety and health statistics. We are dedicated to improvement especially in areas relative to mental health and drug abuse."

For more information, please visit safecommunitiesamerica.org.

About the National Safety Council
Founded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, the National Safety Council, nsc.org, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. NSC advances this mission by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials and the public in areas where we can make the most impact – distracted driving, teen driving, workplace safety, prescription drug overdoses and Safe Communities.

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SOURCE National Safety Council